


I'm Gonna Be...

by LoneChestnutTree



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Chris is in-love, Christmas Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Romance, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 01:20:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13089450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneChestnutTree/pseuds/LoneChestnutTree
Summary: AU where Chris works at a utility shop, as Leon goes from a fresh-faced costumer, to a regular, to maybe something more.//"But as the flowers wither against the cold weather, something new blooms, deep inside Chris. His tiny crush snowballs into a massive one."\\





	I'm Gonna Be...

Working at a utilities shop had its advantages, free lunch (sometimes) at the Korean restaurant next door, the time wasn't a crunch so he could go to bed at a reasonable hour every night, and with his position as the shop's customer consultant, he could socialize with the people that needed help.

Not to mention, that Chris has his share of regular costumers, he would go as far as consider some of them as his friends.

Like, for example: Ms. Chambers, she was a kind, attractive, young woman, often came to him for I.T. help, but by the way she explains her situations, Chris gets a sneaky feeling she knows more about I.T. than him.

Or like the dreaded Mr. Albert Wesker. That man always wants people to address him by his full name, he was a creepy dude, wears all black all the time, with a long, cape-like coat, and somehow, even in nighttime, he still wears sunglasses. Everyone was used to it to the point where they don't even question it anymore, maybe the man just loved fashion, who knows?

And there's also this new guy that started coming there a month ago, 'Leather Jacket Guy' as Chris subconsciously calls him. Being the only person left in the office who doesn't know his name was as frustrating as it was exciting, because simply, there was something wrong with snooping on his buy history for Chris' own personal gain.

It's become an inside joke in the shop, where sometimes his co-workers would fan the man's papers infront of Chris.

"Just a little look? C'mon, it'll spare you the thinking," Jill Valentine, his supervisor, would tease.

But still, Chris refused, he would rather hear it from the man himself.

***

  
The day LJG first came to Chris for help was still a strong memory for him.

It was a busy, autumn day, the bell above their door couldn't seem to stop ringing as customers bustled in and out of the shop. And eventhough the crisp air of fall blew outside, the inside of their shop was humid and overwhelming, babies wailing their lungs out, as a bunch of older men yelled at him about how 'incompetent' he was at his job.

But like a cooling breeze, the door opens, the bell rings and in came him, wearing a dark blue v neck, he wasn't wearing his jacket but it was tucked neatly under his arm, the man scanned the long line with his azure eyes before he stood in the back, waiting.

And in that moment, as he look at LJG with those _blue_ eyes, _golden_ hair that seemingly poured on his slender face like honey, Chris wished he had superhuman speed to mow down the front line as fast as he could just to talk to him already.

He considers himself as someone that doesn't believe in magic or other strange 'coincidences' like that but as soon as the blonde stepped forward to talk, Chris kept a sharp ear towards the door and wished for anyone who was willing to listen to guard that door and not let anyone in, for this was their moment, finally.

"How may i help you?" Chris asks, immediately scolding himself since he has never used that line, ever.

"Hey, so, i need an expert opinion," The man scratches his head, looking at Chris from under his bangs, "So i have this ancient walkie i need to fix and i was wondering if you could tweak it to boost its signal strength, is that possible?"

Chris knew he could've just said he could tweak it and leave it at that--but why would he even pass up the small minutes where he has this man's undivided attention?

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to look at him, this close, and noticing how he drums his fingers on the table, or how he touches the nape of his hair when he's talking, and maybe even imagine Chris leaning over the counter to level his gaze with the man, levelling their eyes, their nose, their lips. Making them share the same air that closely-- _Maybe_.

***

  
With the leaves on the ground getting swapped with blankets of snow, the shop was in full holiday swing, they all wore santa hats, as Christmas songs played 24/7, making Chris catch himself singing along to them every time.

He loved Christmas, loved it to the point where he would get hot chocolate after every shift to bask in the feeling of festivity.

But as the flowers wither against the cold weather, something new blooms, deep inside Chris. His tiny crush snowballs into a massive one, without noticing, he began remembering the times LJG has visited the shop.

Just two weeks ago he bought a pipe, waving at Chris before he left, and that time he bought some roof sealants, or that time last week when he talked to Chris about his walkie. To where Chris also learned that he works for the government, but when he asked him what his position was, the man winked at Chris and said, "If i tell you, i'm gonna have to kill you." Whenever he catches himself thinking back on it, a small smile snags on his lips, to which he has to cover up with the back of his hand to avoid escalating into a full blown grin.

Okay, maybe Chris had it bad now, the dude was cracking jokes, it's what normal people do, right? Cracking jokes with the employees to ease them and maybe get a discount or something, but then when Chris gave him a discount, the man looked bewildered and insisted on giving Chris a tip instead.

But now, with just two days till Christmas, and the weather reports says there'll be another blizzard, his hope of seeing the man before the holiday ends was starting to dwindle.

Chris could probably run into him outside work, he could be walking along the sidewalk with a stack of paperworks, and the blonde would bump into him causing the papers to fall everywhere, and without them knowing, they were reaching for the same paper, making their hands brush--or something, at least that's what he gathers from all the rom-coms he have watched in the past.

He was arranging the little Christmas tree on his desk when the bell chimed and his head snaps to look at the person who entered the shop.

There was a fleeting thought in his mind where he swore the man has achieved the limit of perfection, but then again he has never seen him in his element, that is, until the same man stood infront of him now, in the process of taking off his oversized coat and leaving him with a faded grey, university shirt with matching sweats.

The man attempted to catch his breath, the icy fog from his mouth came out in short, visible puffs, like he has been sprinting the few blocks from here.

"Hey, Chris," He approached the brunette, digging out a string of Christmas lights from his messenger bag.

He was a welcomed sight as always, but the sudden urgency from his expression, and the deep, cherry blush from the man's cheeks made Chris scramble for words before settling on a pathetic, 'Hi' instead.

LJG smiled briefly, as he placed the roll of lights on the counter between them,"Okay, this is so short notice but my lights broke and i don't know what happened--" The man looked at him for a second, before shaking his head, "No, that was a lie, i actually know what happened, i accidentally stepped on the plug with my boot and now it's smashed, can you fix it?" There was a twinge of doubt in his voice, Chris can tell, but who was he to say, he was still somewhat of a mystery to Chris, hell, the brunette still doesn't even know his name.

"Yeah, i'll see what i can do." Chris picks it up and investigates it.

The socket was smashed, alright. Bits of wires hung uselessly on the side as the plugs itselves were twisted in a different way, flipping over the lights, he spotted the small box where the buttons were, Chris quirks his eyebrows as he noticed that the plastic box was caved in as well, "Jesus, how hard did you step on this?" Chris asked, focusing on the lights in-front of him.

"Uh, yeah--i stepped on it kinda hard, was on my way to work when it happened."

"No, this looks too damaged--" Chris trailed off, "From how the plug is stretched to a different angle, and from how the buttons are literally caved in, are you sure you didn't dropped it from somewhere high?" He was now in full on helper mode, the thoughts from earlier were now put in the background to make room for solutions to how he'll be able to fix this problem.

He swipes a thumb on the top of the box, feeling how a few more minor dents littered the top, and from how shallow it looked, the odds of it falling off of a high surface was now dim, because as Chris examined, he could tell that it looked like it was stepped on-- _repeatedly_.  
Doubt and confusion dusted his expression, looking from the lights and to the blonde infront of him, the man now crossed his arms and took a step back away from the counter, an act of defense, Chris points out.

And then it dawned on him, 'accident' my ass, this was done on purpose, the brunette thinks.

He wants to know what the hell this is, because now, he noticed, that there was some sort of tension between them, as Chris' discovery hung in the air and the way the blonde coiled away from him like he was about to sprint outta the store if Chris moves, he opened his mouth to start saying something, anything, just to get the man comfortable again.

But then, the blonde slams his hand on the table, making Chris flinch, and the small Christmas tree next to him topple to the side, "I lied, okay, i stepped on it a buncha times," The man spat.

With how wide Chris' eyes were right now, they would've been easily seen from space. How could he have fucked this up so quickly? He haven't even had a proper conversation with the guy yet, but he managed to get yelled at, so here they were, Chris staring at him as the man stood there: sweaty, and red as the poinsettias hanging above their heads.

His heart started sinking, and his core was slowly getting cold, what he wanted to say and what he should say got knocked out of him the moment the man's hand came in contact with the spruce counter, "I--" Chris began.

The blondes eyes flickered all over his face, from Chris' frightened, downturned eyes, his slooping frown, and the way his shoulders hunched. The younger man's mouth opens as if to say something, and closes, and opens again before he scrambled on the counter to get a lone, snow-white card that Chris couldn't remember how it got there.

He handed it to Chris, as Chris opens it with small tremors in his hands,

  
_"Merry CHRIStmas, Chris. (Ha!)_  
_Sorry for always bugging you,_  
_Coffee, sometime? :)_  
_From: Leon."_

Chris swallows an audible gulp.

Time didn't halted, that, he knew because the lights above them continued to flicker, painting the man--Leon's face with different colors, the branches outside still scraped on the windows, normally that would've annoyed Chris but never in his life has he been this focused. The outside world, the world suddenly unknown from his and Leon's radius slowly turned into white noise, as all he could hear was their breathing and the sound of his thumb running over and over Leon's name on the card like water against sand.

Leon gently coaxed the card from Chris' grasp and held it against his chest, "I'm sorry for everything tonight, i just thought that, y'know, you'd be up for coffee, like as--well, a date. But i'm an idiot for ever assuming i had a chance with y--" He gets cut off, not with a punch nor a kiss but with Chris' hand tangling with his oh, so _gently_.

Chris has prepared something just incase this happens, but what he knew he had to say fell short compared to what he felt right now, because Chris thought this would've been breezy, all those rom-coms ripped him off, because every cheesy or profound line he might've prepared felt fake in the face of the real deal.

There was no gigantic cue cards, or last minute airport confessions, hell, he's glad they weren't on a sinking ship.

And maybe, like another avalanche, falling for someone didn't had to be slow and thought out, maybe it was rapid where it takes you in and smothers you completely.

So, with his words melting out of him, and he's left with a basic english vocabulary, he settles with the safest reply, and probably, the most important reply of all, "I would love to get coffee with you." Chris says, still knowing inside himself that this whole debacle was a quiet win for his rom-com loving side.

 

***

Days pass and they had their date, a coffee shop settled on the corner of their town.

The moment they sat on their booth and began talking, Chris learns that the man has been visiting their shop on purpose just to see him. And it was, as Chris feels, was enough for him to wonder just how a man like Leon come to 'like' a man like him.

Their date ends as Chris shifts on his seat, and Leon shifts with him, surrounded by Christmas decorations that still adorned the cafe, not only that but maybe it was the both of them gathering the strength to say that they should see each other again. Chris wasn't gonna let this be their last date, he has so much to learn about this man. And Leon has so much to learn about him too.

So as Chris looks at him, eyes as vast as the ocean, with a smile that was more notorious than the winter wind, Chris asks him a question.

"So, do you have any plans for _New Years?_ "

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Eventhough i wasn't confident in posting this, i figured i'd have to atleast try.  
> So, here's this...fic.  
> Hope you enjoyed! ✩
> 
> (P.S. There was supposed to be a lengthy date scene but i decided to scrap it. Sorry!)


End file.
